Interest in heart rate variability (HRV) metrics as markers of physiological and psychological health continues to grow beyond those with psychophysiological expertise, increasing the importance of developing suitable tools for researchers new to the field. Allen, Chambers, and Towers (2007) developed QRSTool and CMetX software as simple,…

The Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) has dominated self-regulated learning research since the early 1990s. In this study, the two MSLQ subscales specifically designed to assess self-regulation--Metacognitive Self-Regulation subscale and Effort Regulation subscale--were examined. Results indicated that the structure of the two…

A measure of "clusterability" serves as the basis of a new methodology designed to preserve cluster structure in a reduced dimensional space. Similar to principal component analysis, which finds the direction of maximal variance in multivariate space, principal cluster axes find the direction of maximum clusterability in multivariate space.…

The purposes of this study were to explore the structure of coping with everyday stressors in a young nonclinical population and examine the relationship between coping and mental health. A total of 1324 children from 91 second-grade classes in 35 schools participated. Mental health was assessed using the parent and teacher forms of the Strengths…

A new approach to identify item clusters fitting the Rasch model is described and evaluated using simulated and real data. The proposed method is based on hierarchical cluster analysis and constructs clusters of items that show a good fit to the Rasch model. It thus gives an estimate of the number of independent scales satisfying the postulates of…

The aim of this study was to evaluate possible consequences of using unidimensional item response theory (UIRT) on a multidimensional college admission test. The test consists of 5 subscales and can be divided into two sections, that is, it can be considered both as a unidimensional and a multidimensional test. The test was examined with both UIRT…

The study presented here is an attempt to calculate a comparative multidimensional index of economic well-being for the Spanish Autonomous Communities. Based on the dimensions of adjusted consumption, real wealth, equity and economic security per inhabitant, we obtain one relative index using a system of uniform weightings, a second resulting from…

The infinitesimal jackknife, a nonparametric method for estimating standard errors, has been used to obtain standard error estimates in covariance structure analysis. In this article, we adapt it for obtaining standard errors for rotated factor loadings and factor correlations in exploratory factor analysis with sample correlation matrices. Both…

The purpose of this study is to identify factors associated with adolescent alcohol or drug (AOD) abuse/dependence, mental health and co-occurring problems, as well as factors associated with access to treatment. This is a secondary analysis of data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) 2000. The 12-month prevalence rate of…

The modulation of synaptic strength associated with learning is post-synaptically regulated by changes in density and shape of dendritic spines. The transcription factor CREB (cAMP response element binding protein) is required for memory formation and in vitro dendritic spine rearrangements, but its role in learning-induced remodeling of neurons…

The purposes of this study were (a) to develop a new measure to assess doctoral advisees' use of relational maintenance behaviors with their advisors, and (b) to examine both advisees' (n = 636) and advisors' (n = 141) perceptions of their mentoring relationship using mentoring enactment theory (MET; Kalbfleisch, 2002). The results of…

This research begins to independently and quantitatively validate the Ford, Wolvin, and Chung (2000) Listening Competency Scale. Reliability and Confirmatory Factor analyses were conducted on two independent samples. The reliability estimates were found to be below those reported by Ford, Wolvin, and Chung (2000) and below acceptable levels for…

Marginalized youth's development occurs in contexts rife with racialized, gendered, and socioeconomic social identity threats and barriers to social mobility. An emergent line of inquiry suggests critical action--a component of critical consciousness, defined as engaging in individual or collective social action to produce social change--may…

Background: Both education policies and curriculum documents identify the personal development of students as a key objective of modern education. Physical education (PE) in particular has been cited as a subject that can promote students' life skills development and psychological well-being. However, little research has investigated the processes…

This study examined the reliability and validity of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System-Secondary (CLASS-S) in Finnish classrooms. Trained observers coded classroom interactions based on video recordings of 46 Grade 6 classrooms (450 cycles). Concurrent associations were investigated with respect to teacher self-ratings (e.g., efficacy beliefs…